Police release surveillance camera footage of Vaughan distraction theft

York Regional Police are hoping surveillance camera footage of a recent distraction theft in Vaughan will both lead to an arrest and put residents on guard against the increasingly common crime.

The footage, which was released to the media on Friday morning, shows a female suspect approaching a woman in her driveway in the Via Campanile and La Rocca Avenue area at around noon on Oct. 1, engaging her in conversation and then placing a cheap necklace around her neck while surreptitiously removing her real jewelry.

The suspect then fled the scene in a white four-door Jeep Wrangler.

According to Const. Andy Pattenden, the theft is just one of 35 similar occurrences in Vaughan so far this year. In most of those cases, a suspect or suspects approached a victim asking for directions or other information and then offered them jewelry as a gift.

“We are really trying to catch the suspect but warn people as well. We have issued warnings before but to see it actually happen like this is way more impactful,” Pattenden told CP24.com. “This woman was in her driveway, was approached by stranger and just did the polite thing and listened and then the theft happened. It really is disheartening, and it’s terrible to watch. It’s not just the monetary value either. The jewelry (stolen from victims) is often a family heirloom that has been handed down for generations.”

Distraction thefts have been on the rise across the GTA over the last few years and in March Toronto police issued a public safety advisory warning the public about a wave of distraction based thefts targeting the elderly.

Speaking with CP24.com, Pattenden said that authorities in York Region have been in touch with police in other jurisdictions, including Toronto, but have not yet made a definitive link between the thefts in Vaughan and elsewhere in the GTA.

Pattenden also noted that police believe that multiple “groups of people” could be responsible for the thefts.

In March, Toronto police Det. Wes Neal suggested as much, telling reporters that as soon as an arrest is made “another group seems to step up and do the same type of behaviour.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the York Regional Police #4 District Criminal Investigation Bureau at 1 [phone], ext. 7441, or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-TIPS.